Toll Group

Supporting the smooth flow of global drinks logistics.

Vice President Vertical Sales, Liquid - UK

The Worshipful Company of Distillers

Committee Chair, Steward

ewan lacey.com

Working with people and teams to make life and business better.

Some clients also hired me for senior positions.

Clients include:
Goldman Sachs
HSBC Private Bank
Marble Bar
Jascots Wine Merchants
IWSC Group
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
ProWein
Mirror Group
BBC London
Kavalan
Channel 4
Daily Telegraph
NRS Healthcare
YO!Sushi
Penfold’s
Armand de Brignac
LIDL Foodstores
PWC
Commodity Business Awards
GLG
Jamie Oliver Fabulous Feasts

Commitment 

Many individual founders, business owners and successful executives all the way up to the C-suite.

Founder

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics

As a Global Director – Beverage Logistics, I was responsible for:
Leding teams involved in both origin/destination of trade, while facilitating bilateral transactions and addressing client concerns related to prevailing logistical challenges in market, such as Brexit changes, pricing instability, and space availability; promoting to position of Global Director after providing interim support to business for a period of three years; overseeing strategic planning and managing relationships with key clients, such as Concha y Toro, The Co-Op, The Wine Society, Adnams, and Hallgarten; entrusting with task of driving strategic sales in global beverage logistics sector, while engaging with diverse portfolio of large international customers and renowned brands in the market/fostering collaborative relationships with key stakeholders.
My key highlights in this role include:
• Enhanced skillsets and increased capabilities by restructuring and reorganising of UK beverage team.
• Improved overall responsiveness to client requirements by introducing key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Achieved 20% improvement in productivity by consolidating team under one roof/fostering solid work environment.
• Reduced 30% cost of overhead expenses by merging two separate offices into single environment for UK business.

Global Director - Beverage Logistics

I served as Interim Operations Director – Beverage Logistics and was accountable for:
Providing direct leadership and oversight to beverage logistics teams across multiple countries, including UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Chile, and Argentina; cultivating strong relationships between global offices and clients to assure delivery of exceptional customer experiences.
My key successes during this role were:
• Drove impressive 25% increase in business unit turnover by achieving significant £50m growth from 2017 to 2021.
• Played pivotal role in development and coordination of highly profitable wine and spirit competition logistics business.
• Elevated EBITDA performance of UK business by transforming break-even state to achieving remarkable 17% revenue.
• Streamlined operations by merging two offices into a single location, delivering substantial cost savings of 30% on overhead expenses.
• Ensured continued competitiveness by redesigning product offerings for key routes, such as Italy-UK and Latin America-UK in response to price fluctuations.
• Exceeded £50M sales revenues/turnover by completing profit/loss (P&L) business leadership, assuming responsibility for strategic sales, business development, and day-to-day supervision of ten global offices.
• Realised £220k profit by demonstrating exceptional performance and achieving 25% increase in revenue across global competitions including Decanter, International Wine Challenge, and International Wine/Spirit Competition.

Interim Operations Director - Beverage Logistics

IWSC Group Ltd

I performed as Managing Director, and my responsibilities include:
Managing day-to-day business operations, including coordinating the customer journey, maintaining quality performance, overseeing technical and assessment procedures, and collaborating with diverse team of industry experts; overseeing team of six direct reports and administered total headcount of 22 FTEs.
My signature achievements were the following:
• Achieved a significant revenue increase of 35% from 2013 to 2017.
• Enhanced EBITDA performance from 17% to 27% by demonstrating substantial improvement in financial results.
• Developed and executed business strategies for the group companies by aligning with ambitious growth objectives.

Managing Director

During my tenure as Interim General Manager, I have finalized multiple tasks related to:
Holding full accountability for diverse portfolio of group companies, including International Wine and Spirit Competition; Strategically formulating and implemented business plans for the group companies, while effectively managing high turnover; leading and directing portfolio of over 16 consumer/trade events at prominent venues such as The Oval, The Carlton Club, Truman Brewery, and The Guildhall.
The following were my key contributions:
• Orchestrated end-to-end project lifecycle management and delivery by encompassing project planning, scope definition, budgeting, and risk management.
• Demonstrated comprehensive business leadership by assuming responsibility for all aspects of P&L, driving strategic direction, vision, and continued growth of organisation.
• Ensued exceptional client experiences and provide internal employees with ample opportunities for professional development by fostering engagement throughout organisation.

Interim General Manager

ewanlacey.com

Director, Business Consultant, Ewanlacey.com
Operations Manager, Wine of the Times
General Manager, Café Med, Notting Hill
Operations Manager, YO! Sushi
Property Manager, Lidl Foodstores Gmbh
Steward of The Worshipful Company of Distillers & Chair of Marketing Committee
Part of the ‘Distillers One of One Team, Distillers
Drinks Expert, James Martin Saturday Morning & Channel 4 Television
Drinks Industry Commentator, Channel 5 Sky News
Drinks Writer, Sunday Mirror; Daily Telegraph, Women & Home
Regular Guest & Contributor, BBC Radio

Additional Experience

With 20+ years of experience in the drinks industry I am still excited by chasing inefficiency out and bringing sustainability and good sense in.

Ewan Lacey

I’m a Commercial Director and brand strategist with over a decade of experience aligning sales, marketing, and communications to help businesses thrive. Throughout my career, I’ve guided companies through ambitious growth phases, rebrands, and team transformations, always focusing on creating cultures where people feel motivated, valued, and excited about what’s next.

In previous roles, I acted as a fractional marketing and brand consultant, partnering with leadership teams to refine brand identities, recruit high-performing marketing talent, and embed streamlined sales processes. I also co-founded Tiny Wizard Studio and Alchemy Branding Studio, discovering my passion for telling meaningful brand stories and nurturing people-first teams.

Today, I’m fully immersed in leading one organisation’s commercial function, uniting sales and marketing to drive sustainable growth and strengthen brand relevance. I believe real success isn’t just about meeting revenue goals. For me, it’s about building an environment where fresh ideas can flourish, people can grow, and everyone can take pride in the impact they make. If that resonates with you, let’s connect. ✨

Jess Morgan

The simplest sales skill is repeating the last three words. This feels almost too basic to be true, but it works.

When someone says:
“We’ve been burned by suppliers before.”

You say:
“Burned by suppliers?”

Then you shut up. Let them talk.

Mirroring keeps people talking, lowers defensiveness, and hands you the real story without you wrestling it out of them. 

Half the deals I’ve seen go wrong were never about price.
They were about someone not feeling heard.

So, talk less. Listen more and they'll tell you what they need from you.

Commercial Director at Ligtas | Co-founder at Alchemy | Driving brand, marketing & sales alignment for people-first growth | Believer in bold storytelling, behavioural-led leadership & culture that connects ✨

I used to say “I understand” a lot.

I meant well. It sometimes made things worse.

Because “I understand” can sound like: “Cool, anyway…”

Tactical empathy is different. It’s not agreement, it’s accurate reflection. 

So I’ve switched to:
“It sounds like you’re worried this will drag on.”
“It seems like you’ve got pressure internally to show progress.”

You can almost feel the tension drop when you name the emotion properly.

And then the practical conversation can actually start.

I’ve sat through training that was technically “good"…and then watched people go straight back to old habits the next day.

So here’s the thing I keep coming back to: training isn’t the point. Changed habits are.

The best learning I’ve seen has a few traits:
👉 It’s practical (real situations, not just theory)
👉 It’s relevant (your job, your risks, your day-to-day)
👉 It builds confidence, not just knowledge
👉 It’s followed up in the workplace

One thing I like about how Ligtas runs training is the heavy focus on real-world experience and competence, not just ticking the “certificate issued” box.

Read one of our case studies here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekD-Rdtg 

#LearningAtWork #HealthAndSafetyTraining #Competence #ContinuousImprovement

Back in December, we ran a session on what the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 mean and who they apply to. 

The response was huge, and the follow-up questions were…very real. Since then, the government has published Residential PEEPs: Guidance for Responsible Persons.

So on Thursday 29 January (12:00–13:00), we’re running Part 2 — this time focused entirely on how to apply the guidance in the real world.

I’ll be hosting alongside Tom Stallard MIFSM CFPA.Dip, our Head of Technical Services and Fire at Ligtas Consultancy & Training, and we’ll cover:

👉 What the new guidance actually says (and what it doesn’t)
👉 What “good” and “proportionate” looks like for Responsible Persons
👉 Where organisations are most likely to trip up
👉 An extended live Q&A to tackle your specific questions

It’s about helping people make sense of their duties and prepare properly ahead of April 2026.

🗓️ Thursday 29 January 2026
 ⏰ 12:00–13:00
 📍 Free Lunch & Learn (CPD provided)
👉 Reserve your place here: https://lnkd.in/erJp-uit 

If you’re responsible for residential buildings or advising those who are, you’ll probably want this one in the diary.

If you’re responsible for residential buildings, January probably brought a mix of relief and dread.

Relief because the Residential PEEPs guidance is finally out.
Dread because now it’s real, and the detail matters.

Following our December webinar on the Fire Safety Regulations 2025, we’re hosting Part 2 on Thursday 29 January, focused entirely on how to apply the new guidance in the real world.

I’ll be joined by Tom Stallard MIFSM CFPA.Dip, Head of Technical Services and Fire at Ligtas Consultancy & Training, for a practical session covering:

👉 What the guidance actually requires (and where there’s still flexibility)
👉 How to approach Residential PEEPs without over-engineering or under-delivering
👉 What Responsible Persons should be thinking about now, ahead of April 2026
👉 An extended live Q&A because the “what ifs” matter here

It’s about doing the right thing, properly, for residents and for the people managing risk.

🗓️ Thursday 29 January 2026
⏰ 12:00–13:00
📍 Free Lunch & Learn (CPD certificates provided)
👉 Register here:
https://lnkd.in/erJp-uit

Feel free to share with anyone in your network who’s navigating this right now.

I’m partway through Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet and I am utterly hooked. The premise is simple but challenging: Leadership isn’t about taking control. It’s about giving it away.

Marquet didn’t create a culture of followers on the submarine. He inherited it.
A system where people were trained to wait for instructions. To comply rather than question. The uncomfortable moment came when his crew tried to carry out an order that literally couldn’t be done, simply because he'd ordered it. 

Over the last six months, alongside being on a sales leadership programme, I’ve been learning (and unlearning) similar things in a very different setting.

Because sales environments are full of this stuff too. Targets. Scripts. Playbooks. Best practice. “Just do it this way.” All well-intentioned. All familiar. And all very good at training people to follow instead of think.

One quote from the book that’s really got me thinking:
"You may be able to “buy” a person’s back with a pay cheque, position, power, or fear, but a human being’s genius, passion, loyalty, and tenacious creativity are volunteered only."

You can tell people what to do. You can even get short-term results that way.
But thinking, ownership, judgement, care; those don’t respond well to force.

I don’t think I’ve finished forming an opinion on this yet, let alone a plan. But, I do know it’s changing how I think about leadership in commercial teams and what we accidentally shut down and reject when we over-direct instead of trust.

More thoughts once I’ve finished the book. For now, it’s definitely one that’s making me think twice. Has anyone else read this?

I hear “work-life balance” talked about as if it’s something you achieve once and then protect.

This felt much more honest.

Balance shifts. Some weeks' work needs more. Some moments at home can’t wait. Pretending there’s a neat, permanent answer usually just creates guilt.

What I took from this was permission to choose intentionally, rather than trying to get it right all the time.

Leadership isn’t about perfection. It’s about making trade-offs consciously, and revisiting them when things change.

🎧 Episode 9 of Brand To Scale is available here:
https://lnkd.in/eACruYSJ

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Compliance matters. Obviously. But it’s also the minimum. The floor.

The bit that keeps getting my attention lately is what happens when things get busy, messy, pressured, real. That’s when “safety culture” stops being a poster and becomes a behaviour.

A few tells I look for:
Do people speak up early, or stay quiet until it’s a problem?
Are near-misses treated like a gift, or a blame game?
Do leaders ask “what do you need?” or “who did it?”

At Ligtas Consultancy & Training we talk about Safety Beyond Compliance, and it’s a relief to work in a place where that isn’t just marketing copy.

What’s one small behaviour that, in your team, signals “we take safety seriously”?

#SafetyCulture #Leadership #HealthAndSafety #PeopleAndCulture

This explains so much of what I see in leadership and career conversations.

We say we want growth, then avoid the things that would actually create it. The conversation. The decision. The stretch doesn’t feel tidy yet.

Discomfort isn’t a sign you’re doing it wrong. Often it’s the sign you’re doing something new.

Confidence tends to arrive after action, not before it. And waiting to feel ready can keep you waiting far longer than you need to.

🎧 We talk about this properly in Episode 9 of Brand To Scale:
https://lnkd.in/eACruYSJ

Business book recommendation! 😂🔔

No really, it’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr Seuss.

If you're anything like me, you read tonnes of serious business books. And they're great. But sometimes the best ones, the one you need at that moment, is one that’s been kicked under a bed with a Paw Patrol toy.

I read this with the kids all the time, and I love it!  This time, it was this bit that clung to my brain. 🔥 

“You have brains in your head.
 You have feet in your shoes.
 You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
 You're on your own. And you know what you know.
 And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.”

Anyway. Small reminder: you’re not stuck, you’re steering, and the older I get, the more I realise direction beats speed.

So yes… I’ll be taking business advice from Dr Seuss this week.

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Jess Morgan

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The Battle

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